Linkin Park and Thirty Seconds To Mars team up in Mansfield Saturday night

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By Angela SmithFor GateHouse Media

Wicked Local

By Angela SmithFor GateHouse Media

Posted Aug. 16, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Aug 18, 2014 at 10:01 AM

By Angela SmithFor GateHouse Media

Posted Aug. 16, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Aug 18, 2014 at 10:01 AM

» Social News

Linkin Park and Thirty Seconds To Mars, fronted by actor Jared Leto, bring their Carnivores tour to the Xfinity Center in Mansfield on Saturday night. Ahead of the tour, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park held a conference call.Linkin Park has had many breakout hits since forming in 1996. Their new album "The Hunting Party" debuted at number one in 67 countries.Speaking about their new album and its reception from fans, Shinoda said, "It's a statement album. It's a live album, an album that should be taken to the stage, and that's exactly what we're planning to do right now." Alhough the album didn't reach number one in the U.S,, neither Shinoda nor Bennington seem even mildly concerned. "Probably more so than any other record, maybe other than possibly A Thousand Sons, I feel like critically the record's been overwhelmingly positive. Like, I have yet to read anything negative about the record on a critical level that has been written, which is pretty amazing, and so for that we're very grateful," Bennington said. He also said that "The Hunting Party" isn't exactly the type of album that will hit the top of the charts the first week because that is not the type of album it is. It's more of a long-term album than an instant chart-topper.The guys of Linkin Park joked that they would just be playing "lyric videos" from YouTube on the tour and not even bothering to go on stage. Of course, that isn't the case at all. The band is pumped up and ready to perform tracks off of their new album as well as tracks off of their prior albums."I feel it's a solid set. It's got a mix of the old - and basically stuff from every record," Bennington said. Shinoda added that there "will be a lot from the new record" as on the tour, so fans can expect to hear some of their favorite tracks off of "The Hunting Party."When the band members started touring, they had less to worry about and leave behind. Now, they have families and they like to bring them on tour with them when they can.

"Nowadays, it's, like, we focus on having our families out and, if we can have our families out, we - for me personally, like, all I focus on is preparing for the next show," Bennington explained.

Being a part of one of the most famous bands in the world has its ups-and-downs. While the band likes to sign autographs and greet every fan they meet, they definitely can't do that any more. Now, they have to schedule meet and greets and keep the interaction on a controlled level.

Page 2 of 2 - "We've been able to thankfully keep our private lives private and share our professional lives with our fans and everybody's been really respectful of all that. And it's really cool to be in Linkin Park and kind of be a normal person at the same time. So, I appreciate that from our fans and it makes it that much easier to keep an openness with our fans as much as we possible can," Bennington said.

Bennington summed up the relationship between Thirty Seconds To Mars and Linkin Park as a "professional" closeness. "It's been a long time the fans have wanted to see us tour together. So, for that, I think not only has 30 Seconds to Mars, like, grown tremendously over the last several years into not only a great studio band, writing great songs, but they're amazing live."

What's better than two iconic bands, a Hollywood heartthrob and a whole lot of rock music on a Saturday night? Not much. One thing is clear, you can expect Linkin Park and Thirty Seconds To Mars to put everything they've got into delivering a show to remember.